Leadership

Charles (Chuck) Sykes was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated, in August 2004. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Sykes served as Chief Operating Officer since July 2003 and President since May 2004. During his nearly 15 years of leadership, Mr. Sykes has helped SYKES become a leading, global digital-marketing and customer-care outsourcer within the industry.

Mr. Sykes joined the company in 1986, working his way through the ranks, from various administrative roles attending school, to a junior sales representative in the Telecommunications Division to various middle-management roles and later serving as General Manager of the Americas. This has led to an extensive career at SYKES, resulting in comprehensive knowledge of the Company. His experience in operations, accounting, professional services, recruitment, and sales and marketing enable him to manage SYKES’ client relations and the ongoing success of global operations.

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mr. Sykes majored in mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University. He is very involved in his community, serving the University of Tampa as a member of their Board of Trustees and Administrative Affairs Sub-committee. He supports Feeding America of Tampa Bay, the country’s largest charitable hunger-relief organization, as a board member.

In 2010, Mr. Sykes served as Chair of The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. He continued his service through 2011. In 2012, he served as Chair for The American Heart Association’s Heart Ball and on the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee. In 2013, Mr. Sykes served as Chair of The Tampa Bay Partnership.

Mr. Sykes currently serves on the boards of the Tampa Bay Partnership, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of West Central Florida, the American Heart Association, the Straz Center for Performing Arts and Feeding America of Tampa Bay.

Mr. Sykes is a member of the Hillsborough County Economic Development Committee and serves as Chair of the Baseball Caucus. In 2011, Mr. Sykes was voted as Tampa Bay’s top business leader in the St. Petersburg Times Annual Leadership Survey of the Business Community.

John Chapman is Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated and oversees the company’s worldwide finance organization, investor relations, corporate planning and control, tax, corporate treasury, corporate real estate, facilities, and corporate citizenship. He has been with the company for a total of 12 years, joining SYKES as the Vice President of EMEA Finance in September 2002, managing all accounting for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. After a strategic review in EMEA in September 2011, Mr. Chapman became the Senior Vice President of Operations and EMEA Finance, adding business operational management to his finance responsibilities.

Before he started at SYKES, Mr. Chapman worked for seven years as a financial controller for Raytheon UK, a global aviation, aerospace, and cybersecurity Company specializing in defense and civil government. Mr. Chapman graduated with honors from the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Computer Science. Mr. Chapman is a Chartered Certified Accountant.

Jim Farnsworth joined Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated in 2016 as Executive Vice President and General Manager. In this role his scope includes leadership of our Work At Home business group, internal shared services and a portfolio of industry solutions. Mr. Farnsworth has a demonstrated history of innovation, service and leadership for large-scale businesses and their customers over the past 20+ years. Mr. Farnsworth has successful experience leading outsourced and contracting arrangements with clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 2000® companies around the world and has developed complex customer solutions for some of the world’s leading brands.

James (Jim) T. Holder joined Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated in December 2000 as General Counsel and in January 2001 was also named Corporate Secretary. In his role as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Mr. Holder is responsible for world-wide corporate legal matters including corporate organization, litigation, regulatory compliance, contracts, conducting the annual shareholder meetings and Board of Director representation. Mr. Holder oversees the Company’s team of attorneys responsible for all aspects of SYKES’ legal affairs around the world.

Before he became general counsel for SYKES, Mr. Holder wore several hats for Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. Between 1993 and 2000, he served in various capacities at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., including Corporate Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and General Counsel and finally as Special Counsel. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. is a publicly held operator and franchisor of fast food restaurants. Prior to his work with Checkers, Mr. Holder served as General Counsel for Health Care Products group of companies, a privately held consortium of companies involved in the sales and marketing of various health care products as well as real estate investments. Mr. Holder was also previously in the private practice of law through his tenure with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and PricewaterhouseCoopers, both of which remain headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

A native of Florida, Mr. Holder received his Bachelors of Arts in Accounting from the University of South Florida in 1980, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia in 1983. Mr. Holder received his Certified Public Accounting certification in Florida in 1985. During his career, Mr. Holder has been a member of the American Bar Association, The Florida Bar Association, The Georgia Bar Association, The Hillsborough County Bar Association, and The American Association of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Holder is licensed to practice law in the Courts of the State of Florida and Georgia, as well as the United States Tax Court. Mr. Holder has served as an adjunct professor of Business Law at the University of South Florida and has taught private CPA review courses throughout the country.

Kelly Morgan is the Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer of Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated. In his role, he focuses on innovating the customer-care experience and leading strategic transformation for SYKES. He also serves as the executive sponsor for client relationships, maintaining and growing our client base. With more than 20 years of industry experience in software, telecom, cloud and high-tech services, he brings valuable thought leadership in strategy and innovation, transforming the traditional approach to customer experience and technical support. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Mr. Morgan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and management from the University of Florida. He has held several key management positions at IBM Corporation and Symantec Corp./VERITAS Software Corp., where he led global service expansion for data and security verticals in all domestic and international markets. Prior to joining SYKES, Mr. Morgan pioneered strategic initiatives at Frontier Communications and Frontier Secure. During his tenure, he became Senior Vice President and General Manager of Customer Care, leading all aspects of strategy and operations including planning, financial performance, business development, sales and distribution, customer service and strategic partnerships.

Jenna Nelson has been with Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated in Tampa, Florida, since August, 1993. In her current role as Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Ms. Nelson is responsible for developing relevant people strategies and policies to successfully support the company’s worldwide operations. In this role, she leads a highly skilled global team of human resource professionals who are responsible for ensuring the Company’s critical HR programs empower more than 50,000 employees to learn, grow and effectively support over 250 multinational clients. Ms. Nelson plays a vital role championing culture advancements on one of the Company’s most important global working groups: the People Excellence Council. She works directly with the Executive Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining SYKES, Ms. Nelson spent several years in Europe working for two major international providers of government communications software and services. In both positions, she was responsible for overseeing all human resource activities for third country nationals, local nationals and Americans working abroad. Ms. Nelson serves as the Board Chair for Feeding Tampa Bay; a member of the country’s largest charitable hunger-relief organization.

Ms. Nelson’s passion is people, so working for SYKES in her role serving people provides her with enormous gratification and pride. That passion carries through to her personal life as well. She thoroughly enjoys spending her free time outdoors with family, friends and loved ones on, by or in the beautiful gulf and bay waters off of Tampa Bay.

David (Dave) L. Pearson is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of SYKES Enterprises, Incorporated. In his role as Executive Vice President and CIO, Mr. Pearson defines the company’s technology vision and oversees all IT operations, security and information systems.

Mr. Pearson joined SYKES as Vice President of Engineering in 1997, directing research and development of cutting-edge customer service, web-based support and technical support systems. In 2000, he became the Vice President of Technology Systems Management. In this role, he managed Global Information Systems and IT Operations for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Dave was responsible for IT planning and standards, data centers, information systems, security and SYKES Network Operations Centers.

Prior to his career with SYKES, Mr. Pearson held engineering and senior management positions with Compaq Computer Corporation and Texas Instruments, Inc. Mr. Pearson received his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. Mr. Pearson sits on the Governing Body for Evanta, an organization committed to fostering collaboration and the exchange of best practices between Information Technology & Security, Human Resources and Finance leaders. Evanta’s governing body members represent the largest organizations in the region and create an influential community of CIOs, CISOs and Chief Data Officers.

Lance Zingale has been an integral part of Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated’s executive team for over a decade having joined the Company in January 2006 as Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Client Management. In his current role as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Company, Mr. Zingale oversees SYKES’ Communications, Technology and International business, which includes management of the company’s largest clients, their US operations, and all EMEA operations.

A native of Westfield, New Jersey, Mr. Zingale received his Master of Business Administration with specialization in marketing from Lehigh University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Allegheny College. He began his career with AT&T, where he worked for nearly 20 years. During his tenure with the international telecommunications firm, he rose through the ranks within the sales, marketing, and operations departments. At AT&T, Mr. Zingale held management positions in marketing, operations, and customer care. Prior to joining SYKES, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for a call center management company headquartered in Colorado.

Deeply committed to giving back to his community, Mr. Zingale served as a member of the Board of the National Industries for the Blind, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C for almost ten years. This organization focuses on working with the blind to create opportunities for economic and personal independence. In 2011, he was Event Chair of the 22nd Annual Tampa Signature Chef’s Event benefitting the March of Dimes, a non-profit organization that funds research to end premature births and birth defects. Since 2010, Mr. Zingale has served as Executive Sponsor of SYKES’s United States Team in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk campaign, which funds research to end heart disease and strokes. He is an ongoing member of American Heart Association’s Heart Walk cabinet. Mr. Zingale also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of the Holy Names, an elementary and college preparatory high school located in Tampa, Florida.

Eileen M. Canady brings over 20 years of professional experience to SYKES in her role as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing. Her in-depth knowledge of both domestic and international markets has provided her with a unique skill set and creative vision to lead the global marketing organization and to help foster a growing demand for SYKES’ solutions globally. During her career, Ms. Canady has built a reputation as a key team player that’s reflected in her successful collaborative projects at SYKES.

Before SYKES, Ms. Canady held the position of Vice President of Strategic Development & Marketing at JHS Capital Advisors. As Vice President, she played a key role in implementing a development strategy that increased the company’s brand presence and recognition as a leader in the industry. Ms. Canady strengthened marketing communications by creating an in-house studio to showcase the brand via multimedia platforms. Through the cultivation of strategic partnership programs for JHS Capital Advisors, she helped strengthen brand equity and reduce operating costs.

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in English with Business and Technical Writing from the University of Delaware and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Tampa, Ms. Canady moved on to careers in Marketing, including owning her own consulting firm, Senior Market Research Analyst, and Program Director.

While running her consulting firm, Ms. Canady cultivated a niche in the industry through strategic planning and business development. It was here that she was recognized for developing plans to increase current and potential client’s shareholder values by 5 to 20 percent.

Outside of her career successes, Ms. Canady is a member of the philanthropic women’s group Crisis Center of Tampa Bay’s Women in Action.

Victoria Georgalakis is a global business leader with over twenty years of experience in achieving business growth and operational efficiencies across a wide variety of industries. This wide base of experience has led to her current position at Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated as Senior Vice President for the Global Region of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Operations for the EMEA region includes seven sites in four countries.

After completing a Degree in Economics from Kingston University in London, Ms. Georgalakis embarked upon her professional career in a marketing role with American Express’s insurance operations, where she gained invaluable business experience strategically positioning products to consumers. Ms. Georgalakis continued to build upon her insurance marketing experience working for over 7 years for Lloyds Banking Group. Throughout her career, Ms. Georgalakis’ inherent leadership capabilities were cultivated and recognized as she began migrating to management track positions beginning with a Director position with Cendant Corporation and Rubicon Dynamics. In 2003, she transitioned to the Healthcare Industry, working as the Head of Strategic Marketing for AXA PPP Healthcare and then moving within the organization to a role as the Director of Customer Service & Claims, an elected Board position.

In addition to her extensive business background, Ms. Georgalakis also believes in giving back to the community. She serves as a judge for the yearly Chamber of Commerce Awards, recognizing excellence and innovation in the business community. She is also involved in the charity WellChild, an organization devoted to placing children suffering from severe illnesses in environments that allow them to move towards wellness. Aside from her work at SYKES and her service to her community, Ms. Georgalakis enjoys cooking and traveling.

Michael (Mike) Henderson began his career with Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated in 1997. Throughout nearly two decades since he began his work at SYKES, he has proved to be a powerful force in the Asia Pacific region, playing an indispensable role in the company’s growth in China, India, Australia the Philippines. In his role as Senior Vice President of Regional Operations, Mr. Henderson spearheads business operations and sales for the region.

Mr. Henderson started his career in 1993 as a Technical Support agent for Adobe Systems in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1994, Mr. Henderson transitioned to McQueen Limited where he held several operations and management roles before McQueen was acquired by SYKES in 1997. Throughout his career, Mr. Henderson has been able to build upon a strong technical background, combining his understanding of operations and business development to achieve remarkable growth and efficiencies for the company.

Prior to his career in the customer support industry, Mr. Henderson worked on the family farm in Scotland. A native of Carnoustie, Scotland, Mr. Henderson graduated with honours from Edinburgh Napier University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies. After completing his studies, he spent three years travelling and working in Asia, primarily in Australia and Japan, an experience which proved invaluable to better understanding business practices and cultures throughout the region. Mr. Henderson is married and has three children. When he isn’t busy with work, he pursues his hobbies, which include golf and model railways.

John Kruper began his career with Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated when the company acquired Alpine Access in 2012. In his role as SYKES’s Chief Learning Officer, Mr. Kruper leads the training and development for over 50,000 worldwide employees at SYKES, creating a blended learner-led environment that is social, collaborative, and engaging while incorporating adult learning methodologies to foster top talent growth.

Mr. Kruper’s previous experience and education show his passion for studying and building environments that enable people to connect and learn. This passion began at an early age, watching his parents, his father, an electrical engineer who was granted 13 patents while working for Westinghouse R&D, and his mother, a first-grade public school teacher for over 40 years. This upbringing emphasized the importance of combining education and science, leading Mr. Kruper to a doctorate and post-doctorate in science education. After teaching courses at the University of Chicago and Allegheny College, Mr. Kruper moved into the private sector, working for the Cardean Learning Group as Chief Learning Scientist, working with Nobel Laureates, learning scientists, and technologists to develop some of the most progressive online business and general education courses of the time. In 2007, he joined Alpine Access and built their 100% virtual online recruiting and training solutions. After helping the company achieve significant growth in five-years, Alpine Access was acquired by SYKES in 2012, where Mr. Kruper was promoted to Chief Learning Officer.

Harnessing the opportunity to apply emerging technologies to education, Mr. Kruper has helped train thousands of employees all over the world, leading to greater efficiency and efficacy in all kinds of businesses. Mr. Kruper’s lifelong passion for learning coupled with his deep understanding of scientific practice, management philosophy, and educational acumen have informed him and his colleagues in every step of his journey, helping to achieve excellence in SYKES’ talent development program.

Lynn Loefgren is the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated. She was promoted to the role in 2014 and is responsible for driving profitable growth and enabling operational excellence. Known for her strong track record of operational excellence, innovative problem solving, and talent development, Ms. Loefgren oversees the global business for the company’s largest account.

Ms. Loefgren began her work at SYKES in 2004, at which time she held the role of Global Senior Director, managing several telecommunication accounts. In her role, Ms. Loefgren strived to produce significant business results for SYKES measured in the form of financial performance, customer satisfaction and loyalty, market share, and productivity. Later she became Vice President of Global Accounts and most recently she held the position of Vice President of Major Markets. Throughout her service to SYKES, Ms. Loefgren’s strong commitment to operational excellence, innovative approach to business problems, and aptitude for partnering cross-functionally has reshaped and elevated the role of the telecommunications vertical at SYKES.

Prior to her work at SYKES, Ms. Loefgren was the National Sales Director for an academic software company and she served as General Manager and Vice President for Sitel Corporation.

Passionate about giving back to her community Ms. Loefgren has served on the Board of Directors for the Humane Society and various other advisory boards. She lives in Treasure Island, Florida, with her golden retriever and her husband.

Christopher S.D. Rogers is Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Security at Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated. In this role, Mr. Rogers is responsible for delivering technology and security services worldwide, serving as executive liaison and interfacing between IT and SYKES’ Service Delivery and Major Markets Account Management leadership teams.

Mr. Rogers joined SYKES as Director of e-Education in 2000, developing integrated service offerings for higher education driven by technology, telecommunications, and the Internet. Since 2001, he has held a broad range of advanced leadership positions across the organization in technology, security, operations, client services, and support services – including a two-year expatriate assignment in the Philippines where he served as Executive Director for SYKES’ Asia Pacific Region. Throughout his career, Mr. Rogers has been trusted to lead in situations where his blend of technical, organizational, and people skills are needed to build new disciplines, redesign structures, and continuously advance performance. He is a frequent traveler and is continuously energized by the intricacies of multi-national business and cross-cultural teams.

Prior to SYKES, Mr. Rogers was in academics at Princeton Theological Seminary and in sales at Kraft Foods Group, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin, two Master’s degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, and executive education certificates from the University of Chicago and UC Berkeley.

Mr. Rogers is a devoted husband and father and is actively engaged in both industry and community volunteer activities. He serves on the Governing Body of the Florida Evanta CISO Executive Summit and on the Board of Directors and Executive Committees for the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. In January, 2016, Mr. Rogers was awarded the Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero Award for outstanding service to the greater Tampa Bay community.

As Senior Vice President of Central & Northern Europe Region for EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Christian Schaffer brings over two decades of multinational business leadership experience to his position at Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated. Having joined the company in 1997 while in Germany, he held several top-level management positions throughout the region including Regional Director of Operations Northern Europe, Managing Director Wilhelmshaven, Vice President EMEA Operations, and General Manager SYKES Central & Northern Europe. Throughout his 20 years at SYKES, Mr. Schaffer’s career has been infused with a passion for driving operational excellence, improving business performance, and building and supporting growth for international clients.

Mr. Schaffer’s commitment to strategic and sustainable growth, specifically focusing on talent and organizational development, has proven instrumental to the growth of SYKES in multiple locations throughout Europe and Scandinavia. Due to his diligence and ongoing efforts, Mr. Schaffer recently received “The Key to the Heart of Gothenburg” award presented by Business Region Goteborg. The award is granted once a year to foreign-owned companies that are actively involved in the promotion of the region’s economic growth through a diversified economy base as well as with the addition of many new jobs for the region.

Before joining SYKES, Mr. Schaffer worked with Lufthansa German Airlines, first in the area of worldwide sales and service training and later moving into the positions of management training and leadership development and organizational quality improvement programs. Mr. Schaffer was also a member of the Management Board for Human Resources in Kassel for the Lufthansa Telephony Service Center.

Mr. Schaffer attended Goethe University Frankfort where he studied business administration and received his Master of Science degree in Psychology.

Flora Solera is the Senior Vice President of SYKES Latin America, accountable for revenue, profit, and operations for the region. Ms. Solera has over 15 years of multinational business leadership experience with Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated, having joined the company in 1999 as a part of an acquisition. Ms. Solera’s innovative Set Up strategy has proved indispensable to growth throughout the Latin American region. Under her guidance, the company’s presence has grown to include five countries: Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Brazil and over 10,000 employees. During her career, Ms. Solera has built a reputation for operational excellence, innovative strategic thinking, continuous improvements, and a deep and passionate commitment to SYKES’ clients.

Ms. Solera is fluent in English and Spanish and proficient in Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and French. Her gift with languages, combined with well over two decades of customer care and multinational management experience have enabled her to drive accelerated transformation and build a culture of engagement and innovation. She holds a Master’s Degree in Language Education from Moscow Pedagogical Institute and she also holds degrees from Taipei Normal University for Mandarin Studies, UNAM Mexico for Quality Management, and Kellogg School of Management for CEO Management.

Described as a ‘people person,’ Ms. Solera seeks to positively impact every person who comes into the sphere of her responsibility. This objective is reflected in Latin America’s Social Responsibility efforts that have benefited countries in the region. SYKES’ ComprometeRSE Program, which translates to “engage” in English, has established SYKES as a valuable corporate citizen in both Costa Rica and El Salvador.

Darren E. Swanson brings more than 20 years of operations and leadership experience to Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Client and Operations Management, Financial Services, Healthcare and Insurance. Joining the company in December 2016, Mr. Swanson is capitalizing on his experience in leading multi-thousand seat operations to spearhead a client and operations management team, focused on evolving a foundational enterprise-wide approach to account management, operational planning and optimization, performance management, talent acquisition, and development.

Prior to joining SYKES, Mr. Swanson was a Vice President in Customer Service Operations with DISH Network, where he was responsible for the management and strategic vision of a 5,000-employee call center operation. Mr. Swanson continually engaged with and coordinated multiple site operations, working constantly with various departments and levels to drive efficiencies and customer satisfaction by focusing on employee engagement, development and recognition. His efforts resulted in continual industry recognition for customer satisfaction and a 27 percent reduction in operating costs from 2009 to 2015.

Before working with DISH, Mr. Swanson spent close to nine years with TeleTech, where he rapidly moved up the ranks in Global Operations from Director to Executive Director to Vice President. Responsible for client-relationship management, contract negotiation and management, call-center operations and performance management, Mr. Swanson directed a multi-site, international operation with over 5,000 customer-care representatives. In his tenure there, Mr. Swanson continually increased revenues and EBIT from 2000 to 2009.

Mr. Swanson earned his MBA in Business Administration from the University of Colorado and received his Bachelor of Sciences in Architecture from the University of Nebraska. His dedication to building community extends to volunteering with nonprofit organizations like Adopt-A-School and Junior Achievement in addition to coaching youth football, basketball, baseball and softball teams.

Mr. Swanson has been married to his wife Courtnay for over 25 years and has three children, Maddison, Zachary, and Emma and cannot forget about Stitch their hairless dog. He enjoys golf, spending time traveling and attending the myriad of sporting events that they all continue to be involved in.